World Cup Chic | Kehinde Wiley’s Fancy Footwork

With the World Cup games in South Africa just days away, soccer balls aren’t the only things spinning out of control. The New York City artist Kehinde Wiley’s “Africa Lifestyle” sneakers and sports apparel for Puma are creating their own brand of hysteria. Puma has been supplying African soccer teams with uniforms since 1997, when it signed on with Cameroon. Wiley’s own partnership with the brand began two years ago with a commission to capture the spirit of the game through life-size paintings of Africana footballers like Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon, John Mensah of Ghana and Emmanuel Eboué of Ivory Coast. The paintings have been touring the globe with pit stops in Paris, London, New York, Beijing, Tokyo, Milan and Johannesburg, where they will land just in time for next week’s kickoff.

Courtesy of Puma

Wiley, 33, whose name means “second born” in Yoruba, was raised in Los Angeles by an African-American mother and a Nigerian father and says this project has been like “a coming-out party.” The spirited collection includes bomber jackets, T-shirts, leggings, laces and particularly eye-catching patterned kicks like “Tekkies Heroic Sisters.” Wiley calls this initiative his response to “street branding,” in which a fondness for abstraction, West African art and “veritable wax” fabrics from Dakar and Lagos merge onto lively footwear that echoes contemporary African tribal markings. According to Antonio Bertone, Puma’s chief marketing officer, the raw canvas for each additional collection will be sourced directly from Africa. In the meantime, keep an eye out for more items debuting this fall, including the Kehinde Puffa and the unisex 4M Mix high-top sneakers.